How to Build a Course Using Microsoft PowerPoint Decks in Articulate Storyline

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We rated Articulate Storyline 2 (and, by association, the entire Articulate family of products) as the best eLearning Authoring tool on the market. Along with a comprehensive feature set, an exhaustive image and illustration library, and a wide array of course and quiz models, Articulate Storyline 2 is designed by using Microsoft Office's PowerPoint as its course-building template. Articulate Storyline 2's association with one of the most commonly used productivity tools on the market gives it a leg up on the rest of the field, especially if you consider how difficult and technically esoteric systems in this class tend to be.

What's perhaps most convenient about Articulate Storyline 2 is that you can import existing Microsoft PowerPoint decks into your courses rather than having to start from scratch; this is particularly useful for businesses that have been working off of Microsoft PowerPoint for the past decade but are looking for more dynamic eLearning course materials. In this article, we'll show you how to turn your old Microsoft PowerPoint slides into interactive courses, quizzes, and animations.

Step 1: Import Your Presentation

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To get old decks into Articulate Storyline 2, you'll need to open your Articulate Storyline software. If you're using Articulate Storyline 360 or any of the local applications, then you'll see an Articulate Storyline tab within Microsoft PowerPoint. Once you click on that tab, you're essentially working within Microsoft PowerPoint but you have access to every interactive element that Articulate Storyline has to offer.

If you're like me and you're working directly in Articulate Storyline 2, then you'll want to click "Import" and then select "Import PowerPoint." From here, you'll be asked to locate the deck on your computer or external drive. Once you've found the file, double-click it.

Step 2: Choose Your Slides

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One of the best aspects of this integration is the ability to choose which slides you'd like to import or to import the entire deck at once. You can select or deselect slides by clicking on each individually. Once you've made your decision, press "Import." There will be a brief delay here depending on how many slides you've uploaded.

Step 3: Edit and Arrange Slides

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Once your slides have been uploaded into Articulate Storyline 2, you'll be brought into the system in what's called "Story View." This gives you an overview of your entire deck. From here, you'll be able to arrange and delete slides (should you later decide to make changes). Double-click any slide to get into Slide View.

Here, you'll notice that every Object created in Microsoft PowerPoint is not only added to Articulate Storyline 2 but they are parsed out as separate Objects (additionally, all animations and audio added to Microsoft PowerPoint is transferred to Articulate Storyline 2 as well). This means you can remove or edit each individual Object. If you click on the Timeline tab, then you can space Objects out so that they appear at different times within the slide.

Step 4: Add More Slides

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Just as you would in Microsoft PowerPoint, click "Insert" to add more slides. Because of the tight integration between Microsoft PowerPoint and Articulate Storyline 2, your new slides will live alongside your old slides without any lag or conversion. As the months and years progress, you'll be able to take training materials that were created in 2010 and add any new materials that need to be added, without having to go back into the old Microsoft PowerPoint deck and start over.

Step 5: Make Slides Interactive

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Use the top navigation to add any of Articulate Storyline 2's features to the top of your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. These features include hotspots, quizzes, stock art, web objects, webcam video recordings, and any free-form HTML activity that your team of developers is capable of coding.

Article How to Build a Course Using Microsoft PowerPoint Decks in Articulate Storyline compiled by Original article here

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